communication campaign on civil security
Keeping civilians safe
challenge
Domestic hazards still exist during wartime
Every day, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) responds to the consequences of war, putting out fires, clearing mines, removing debris, and rescuing people under rubble. The winter of 2022-2023 added a new challenge — the massive destruction of Ukraine's energy infrastructure by Russian missile and drone strikes. Under such conditions, it was extremely important for ordinary citizens to follow the rules of household safety in order to let emergency responders devote their efforts to critically important missions.
Attacks on infrastructure and blackouts in many regions of the country became an additional risk factor for Ukrainians. This made it extremely important to teach citizens to safely heat and light their homes, cross the road in the dark, provide psychological first aid, and look out for themselves, their families, and their communities during the winter at war.
decision
Inform the population about safety rules across multiple channels
To raise Ukrainians' awareness about wartime public safety issues, we developed a large-scale communication campaign, which we implemented together with the State Emergency Service. We used both online and offline tools to reach as many people as possible in communities across the country.
The Internews-Ukraine team placed 53 billboards in 20 communities explaining key rules of civil security. Some of them used plays on well-known folklore proverbs in order to make them more attractive and memorable. Just as Ukrainian folklore is passed down from generation to generation and accompanies us throughout our daily lives, wartime public safety rules should always come to mind when they are needed.
Ukrainians' care and vigilance in everyday household matters will reduce the burden on the units of the State Emergency Service, and most importantly, will help save the lives of Ukrainians themselves. This appeal is reflected in the campaign's slogan — Be vigilant and be vigilant of others!
The campaign also included a digital component, where we used social media to share infographics and videos that briefly and clearly explain household safety rules.
Other communication products for the campaign included articles in online media, printed booklets, and two practical guides (for civilians and public communicators). In addition, more than 90 members of local government received training on effectively instructing their constituents on safety issues.
The campaign covered various topics of civil protection, including safe behavior at home, safely using gas and electrical equipment; safety on the street, staying safe in winter, at night, and in fog; rules of conduct during air raids; emergency preparedness and response; the basic principles of providing psychological first aid, helping neighbors in trouble, helping the community in organizing a volunteer fire brigade, and other relevant topics.
result
Safety rules were learned
We delivered information about civil security to the populations of seven target regions (Poltava, Lviv, Volyn, Odesa, Rivne, Zhytomyr, and Zakarpattia regions). These regions received a significant number of IDPs who had to adapt to new circumstances.
The campaign's communications products reached 1,610,216 unique social media users, thus exceeding the planned target of 1,000,000 unique users. The total online reach of the campaign was 7,936,152.
22 online communities shared campaign materials on their social media pages and websites, and training guides were published on the national decentralization website.
Informing and educating citizens about safety rules has become extremely important during the full-scale war in Ukraine. After all, forewarned means forearmed. If every Ukrainian observes elementary safety rules, there will be significantly fewer emergency situations, many fewer tragedies, and a State Emergency Service that is able to use its attention and resources when the enemy strikes.